The Canadian YMCA Procurement Program (CYPP) was developed to unite all Canadian YMCA's as one national purchasing entity. The main goals of this initiative are to:
KEY LINKS:
Procurement and The YMCA - an overview of the Canadian YMCA Procurement Program (CYPP) and the Buying Group (CYBG)
Membership - an explanation of the different service levels of the CYPP
The Procurement Programs breaks down its membership into three distinct levels:
Level 1 - The Canadian YMCA Buying Group
This level includes all YMCA's throughout Canada. The Procurement Team has worked directly with pre-selected vendors on cost-saving initiatives for a variety of spend categories - categories such as fitness equipment, paper products and child care supplies and equipment.
The goal in working with these vendors is to develop and nuture a strong YMCA/supplier relationship and to be able to offer all our Level 1 members aggressive program pricing and access to group contracts. The benefit of these strong YMCA-supplier relationships is not only greater cost savings, but also a sharing of knowledge and resources among the YMCA's, and ultimately, a more transparent, effective procurement process.
Level 2 - The Canadian YMCA Shared Procurement Services
This Level is a collective of 8 YMCA's across Canada that enjoy an enhanced level of service from the Procurement Team, services that go beyond accessing low-cost supplier deals. Level 2 members have access to all the services and tools of the Procurement Team, including special project support (ie building opening, RFP/RFI/RFQ support, help with renovation projects), participation in spend category initiatives, help in developing and implementing infrastructure-related tools and services, as well as enhanced data reporting and issue resolution.
Some areas of future focus for the Level 2 Program include many infrastructure initiatives such as:
Level 3 - Dedicated Procurement Services
Level 3 membership enhances the YMCA/Procurement Team relationship even further:
In March 2007, the YMCA Canadian Urban Group (CUG) wanted an overview of their current procurement process. The CUG consisted of the 13 biggest YMCA's in Canada. Two of their members - Montreal and Toronto - had already had a procurement analysis done, and the rest of the CUG was hoping to define their current procurement situation and how to find ways it could be improved. The CUG wanted to help their members maximize their potential as buyers while cutting back on redundancies - specifically redundancies in purchasing. They wanted to streamline their approach to purchasing, cutting back on the amount of products being bought and the number of vendors supplying them. It was here the seeds of the Procurement Program were planted.
Over the next six months, the project was rolled out. First, an intense analysis of member spend data was performed. The purpose: to present an unbiased view of current CUG spending habits that would be used to help them identify the areas of their procurement function that needed improvement, as well as exposing key opportunities for savings. Simultaneously, an online survey was set up and in-person interviews were conducted with all 11 participating Associations. Questions focused on the Purchase Order process and whether it was helping or hindering the purchasing process. Participation in each aspect of the analysis was high - the results emphasizing a desire to adopt a system that is more efficient and that can help members of the CUG realize the potential savings suggested by this project.
Implementation of The Canadian YMCA Procurement Program began in ernest in April of 2008. To date, the Program has grown to include all YMCA's of Canada, at varying degrees of participation. We have established and fostered relationships with over 100 vendors and over 200 vendor representatives and account managers, sourced 45 categories of goods and services representing over $100 million in annual spending, negotiated and managed over $10 million in supplier / YMCA contracts and delivered an average of 11% in cost reductions to many key spend categories. Outside of the immediate savings, the Program has worked behind the scenes to help the YMCA's of Canada consolidate their supplier base and improve their environmental impact.